MIDDLETOWN – Brookdale Community College is spring cleaning its course catalog, eliminating one program, moving another to a different department and adding sports broadcasting, making it the first community college in New Jersey to venture into such training, college officials said.

The course will feature hands-on training in audio and video production and opportunities to work with Brookdale's sports teams, Brookdale TV and Brookdale's public radio station, 90.5 The Night. The course begins in the fall.

"Broadcasting is a highly popular career track, but one that requires a great deal of practical knowledge and experience," said Dianna Phillips, executive vice president of educational services at Brookdale. "Brookdale is unique in that it has the faculty, staff and resources to provide that level of practical experience right here on campus."

Introduction to Sports Broadcasting will join television production and introduction to radio in Brookdale's media broadcasting concentration, which falls under the Associate in Arts degree program in Media Studies.

Students will study all aspects of sports broadcasting including editing, production, reporting, newswriting and the development of a personal style.

At a recent BCC board of trustees meeting, officials also opted to discontinue the school's horticulture certificate program.

"The horticulture program has not had any student interest for at least three years," Phillips explained. It was a yearlong program after which the enrollee would receive a certificate that qualified him or her to work in the florist industry, for example.

"There are no students involved and no faculty involved," she said. "Sometimes these careers are cyclical. We have an opportunity to bring it back in the future.

"This certificate has been lingering in the curriculum for three years with no interest whatsoever," Phillips said.

BCC's Speech Communication program will move into the school's communication disorders department, an area that is very much in demand, Phillips said.

"This will take the place of 'speech for communication,' " she said, adding that a general public speaking course will remain part of Brookdale's curriculum.

"It is a natural progression," Phillips said of the changes in speech offerings at the school located in Lincroft and with a campus in Freehold Township, as well as several educational centers throughout the county.